$35G reward offered in young Philadelphia pediatrician's murder

Jan. 21, 2013: Police remove the body of a woman found burned to death in her basement on the 1700 block of Naudain St. in Center City in Philadelphia.
(AP/Philadelphia Inquirer)

PHILADELPHIA – Officials say the reward for information in the murder of a 35-year-old pediatrician found bound and burned inside her downtown Philadelphia home has grown to $35,000.

Firefighters responding to the home Monday afternoon found Melissa Ketunuti's body on fire in the basement, with her ankles and wrists bound. The body was found with a rope around the neck and police believe she was strangled.

Police said Wednesday that the Citizen's Crime Commission will administer $15,000 offered by private donors, which will be added to the $20,000 offered by police for arrest and conviction in a homicide.

Ketunuti was a second-year infectious diseases fellow and researcher at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Police say they don't know whether she knew her killer, but there were no signs of forced entry.